Sex and the City (SATC): the embodiment of young adulthood for women. The big apple, your closest friends, and of course, the dating scene. As someone from the NY metropolitan area, I can easily say that SATC is my comfort show.
However, it’s not my comfort show just because I consider New York City my home. It’s because of how I see not only myself, but my friends from both home and college reflected in the other characters as well. Ever since I binged-watched the series for the first time one Thanksgiving break, my favorite shower thoughts revolve around which one of my friends embodies the characteristics of Carrie, Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte.
While I can’t speak for the original book by Candace Bushnell, which the series was based off of, there has got to be a psychological basis for the friendship between the four women. I mean, who can actually say that their friend group is a harmonious balance of the bold, the insightful, the headstrong, and the gentle? Exactly, the answer is no one.
Perfect friend groups are unrealistic. Every college-aged woman knows this. It would almost be too good if class schedules, summer plans, and down time aligned exactly with our ladies. In fact, distance and independence within friendships are needed for the sake of our own sanity. But somehow, SATC manages to accomplish this independence too, with the women always meeting up just when the viewer starts to think, “it’s been forever since we’ve seen all four!”
Anyways, you get the context. What we still have to delve into is the attributes of each of the characters that make them such great additions to the group. I mean, what would Carrie be without her obsession for Manolo Blahniks? Or Miranda without her affinity for men way below her league?
Good-Old Reliable: Carrie Bradshaw
We all want to be Carrie in some way or another. While she certainly has a large group of haters amongst today’s viewers, you just can’t help but secretly envy her literal, ‘main character energy.’ The Carrie Bradshaw of your group is almost always the one you go to for grounded, but real advice. They’re the glue, the perfect balance between spontaneity and practicality.
For me, my friends that I consider the ‘Carrie’ of the group act as the perfect middle ground on the spectrum between shy and crazy. Carrie will always have a cute top or bag for you to borrow, but she’ll make sure you return the favor by exhaustingly making you listen to the mediocre date she went on three weeks ago (bonus points if it’s with a guy who doom scrolls on Tinder for half of his day). A Carrie sees the good in everyone, but that isn’t always to their benefit. If your Carrie friend insists on bringing some uber-complicated muffin recipe to the hot guy next door, reel her in. Remind your Carrie that sometimes, she needs to let others take the wheel and match her energy before she goes all in.
The Prim & Proper: Charlotte York
Before I get into specifics, can we all agree that Charlotte’s job as an art dealer is totally out of left field? I mean, the girl is about as reserved as possible, at least within the group. When I think of an art dealer, I think of Carrie! But that’s what’s so intriguing about the ‘Charlottes’ of the friend group, they’re able to separate the personal from the professional in such a good way it’s almost scary.
The Charlotte is logical, but in a reasonable way — except when it comes to her own dating choices. She will tell you in a heartbeat to leave a situation that isn’t good for you, but the girl just can’t seem to take her own advice! The Charlotte is the girl you go to for all your event planning. She had a week-long itinerary planned for spring break three months beforehand.
Buy your Charlotte fresh flowers for her room, and go for a mani-pedi day. Charlottes always appreciate the simple and elegant, and their presence not only helps you step into your empath, but gives your Charlotte a chance to unwind.
The Head over Heart: Miranda Hobbes
Emotions? What are those? Miranda is the grounding force of the group. Without her, all logic is thrown out the window. Why over complicate things with emotions when you can just choose the easiest (and oftentimes cutthroat) solution?
Miranda’s don’t have time for drama, but of course they’ll listen in! After all, what good is gossip without a mediator to guide the conversation? Just make sure said gossip doesn’t run over 30 minutes, as the Miranda runs a tight ship.
Miranda finds joy in perfectly curating her planner and to-do list every night, then unwinding with take out and watching whatever happens to be on channel 5 before reluctantly answering the call from her situationship at 10:30 (she needs to be asleep by eleven and frankly, doesn’t want to put up with any guy this late).
Remind Miranda in your life that it’s okay to be emotional, and that they can only control so much. They need you for some fun nearly as much as Steve needed a real job.
The Wild Child: Samantha Jones
Did you skip the rest of this article just to see what I’d say about Samantha? If you did, no shame there. Like the Miranda, the Samantha is honest… but in a much less reserved way. If you ask Samantha how she got those new Prada pumps within two days of their release, she won’t stop with “they were a gift.” Instead, Samantha will gladly explain how she finagled a date with the wealthiest guy in the city, and tell you exactly how much his watch collection is worth (the whole restaurant will also hear every detail… social anxiety cowers at the sight of her).
While Samantha may not err on the side of caution, she knows how to make you feel empowered. Wearing jeans to go out? That’s not going to fly with her. She’s putting you in a mini skirt and reminding you that you’re only young once. If you search the word “blithe” in the dictionary, her picture shows up. To that point, her latest selfies also show up on your instagram feed every two days.
The Samantha of your group is the release. Without her, there would be no ‘group lore.’ No selfies or shared lipsticks in club bathrooms. Give your Samantha a hug, like now.
The beauty of all these women is that so many of their personality traits can be mixed and matched with others. Maybe you have a friend who’s logical like Miranda, but also sees the good in everyone like Carrie. Another may have the wildness of Samantha, but also knows how to plan the entire trip’s itinerary like Charlotte.
My task for you: Go grab your friends, no matter what they’re doing, and watch Sex and the City. Like now. Order pizza, sit in your pajamas (or Manolo Blahniks) and relish in the joy and spontaneity of being a young woman.